1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing Fe--Co based magnetic alloys having excellent mechanical characteristics, and particularly, to a process for producing an Fe--Co based magnetic alloy having a Co content which is in a range of 30% by weight.ltoreq.Co.ltoreq.65% by weight.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the course of producing an Fe--Co based magnetic alloy having a composition as described above, it is conventional practice to subject the material to a magnetic softening treatment for the purpose of improving magnetic properties after processing of the alloy. In this magnetic softening treatment, the material is maintained, for example, at 1,123.degree. K for 3 hours, whereby the metallographic structure is converted into a ferrite structure (which will be referred to as .alpha. structure hereinafter). Then, the resulting material is gradually cooled at a cooling rate of 100 to 200 K.degree./hr, and at such a cooling rate, an order-disorder transition is produced to provide an .alpha. structure of CuZn-type (L2.sub.0 type) ordered lattice.
However, while the Fe--Co based magnetic alloy has good magnetic properties because it has the .alpha.' structure, it suffers from a problem that it has poor mechanical characteristics, particularly, a decreased toughness, resulting in a narrower available range.